Summary
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This is a revision of a currently approved collection. This information collection is associated with waiver request and reporting by State agencies to operate a Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) to temporarily provide food assistance to households following a disaster and the submission of FNS-292A and FNS-292B.
Request for Comments
Written comments must be received on or before August 28, 2026.
Comments may be sent to: Jacqueline O'Connor, Team Lead, SNAP Disaster Response Team, Food and Nutrition Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314. Comments may also be submitted via fax to the attention of Jacqueline O'Connor at 703-305-4371 or via email to Jacqueline.o'connor@usda.gov.
Comments will also be accepted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions for submitting comments electronically. All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will be a matter of public record.
Supplementary Information
Abstract
Pursuant to § 412 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 USC 5179) and § 5(h)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 USC 2014(h)), the Secretary of Agriculture has the authority to establish a Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP), which is a temporary program that state agencies may operate to provide food assistance to households affected by a disaster. D-SNAP is separate and distinct from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) because it has different standards of eligibility, is operated for a limited duration, and only provides one month of benefits to eligible households.
State agencies submit formal waiver requests to operate D-SNAP to the Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) for approval and may only request to operate D-SNAP in areas that have received a Presidential major disaster declaration with authorization for Individual Assistance, also known as an IA declaration. For a major disaster declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Regional Office deploys staff to conduct joint Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs) in conjunction with state, local, Tribal Nation, and/or territory representatives. The Governor or Tribal Executive then submits a declaration request. FEMA submits a recommendation to the President regarding the declaration request and the final determinations are at the sole discretion of the President.
In their D-SNAP waiver requests, state agencies outline the impact of the disaster on households and/or businesses, the proposed procedures for conducting D-SNAP, designate the areas where they wish to operate, and provide estimates of benefit issuance. Using clearly defined criteria, FNA created a waiver template for state agencies to submit their D-SNAP requests electronically through the FNA Waiver Information Management System (WIMS).
Once an initial waiver request to operate D-SNAP is approved by FNA, state agencies will submit any subsequent request to modify or extend operations to eligible areas to FNA for approval. These modification or extension requests are typically used when a disaster impacts different areas of a state in different ways or at different times. Subsequent modification and extension requests require substantially less time to prepare than the initial D-SNAP waiver request. These requests are submitted electronically through WIMS.
Along with the waiver request to operate D-SNAP in areas that have received an IA declaration, FNA asks that the state agency submit a sample of their D-SNAP application for households applying for assistance. Per FNA D-SNAP guidance,this application should include information about the head of household, the impact of the disaster on the household, household members, household income and resources, a penalty warning, and USDA's nondiscrimination statement. FNA provides state agencies with a sample application in the D-SNAP Toolkit. State agencies submit their sample application electronically through WIMS.
Additionally, before a state agency operates a D-SNAP, FNA asks the state agency to provide a draft of their press release for FNA to review. State agencies are expected to issue a press release to publicize the application period to households impacted by the disaster that may need assistance. FNA asks state agencies to issue their press release at least several days before the application period for D-SNAP opens to the public. Per D-SNAP Guidance, the press release should include information about the operation such as the counties or ZIP Codes approved for assistance, application dates, application sites and hours of operation, and other information that potential applicants may need. FNA provides state agencies with an example press release in the D-SNAP Toolkit. The draft press release is submitted by state agencies electronically through WIMS.
During the application period for a D-SNAP, state agencies submit daily data reports to FNA. Daily reports ensure that FNA can monitor state agency capacity and benefit issuance to maintain a high level of customer service and integrity in D-SNAP operations. The reporting template includes data such as the number of new applications taken, the number of applications approved and denied, the amount of benefits issued, the number of pending applications, the number of supplements approved, and the amount of supplements issued. For operations containing a virtual component, the daily report also captures telephonic operation and card issuance data. FNA provides state agencies with a daily report template to provide this data to the agency. State agencies submit daily data reports electronically through WIMS.
Six months after the closing date of the D-SNAP application period, state agencies will submit a post disaster report to FNA. The post disaster report ensures that FNA understands all aspects of the D-SNAP operation and can identify opportunities for improvement. The report template asks that state agencies summarize the impact of the disaster, detail the D-SNAP operation and procedures utilized, provide case review results, and reflect on changes that could be considered in the future. FNA provides state agencies with a post disaster report template to provide this information to the agency. State agencies submit post-disaster review reports electronically through WIMS.
This information collection request contains only burden estimates associated with the state agency's waiver request and some reporting for D-SNAP operations. All burden imposed on state agencies and households associated with the certification of D-SNAP households performed by state agencies is approved under OMB Control Number 0584-0064 (SNAP Forms: Applications, Periodic Reporting, Notices; expiration date: 05/31/2026).
Burden for the remainder of state reporting of D-SNAP data on the FNS-292B (Report of Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Benefit Issuance) is approved under two separate OMB Control Numbers. The recordkeeping burden for FNS-292B is approved under OMB Control Number 0584-0037 (expiration date: 9/30/2026), and the reporting burden for FNS-292B is approved under OMB Control Number 0584-0594 (Food Programs Reporting System; expiration date: 3/31/2025). In a Federal Register Notice published Dec. 4, 2023, (88 FR 84122) FNA announced that it intended to merge the burden hours from 0584-0037 into this information collection. However, when FNA processed the revision to this information collection in December 2025, we neglected to include those merged hours from 0584-0037 into 0584-0336. This revision seeks to merge these two information collections as originally intended.
Because it is impossible to predict the number of natural disasters and extreme weather events that result in an IA declaration in a given year, and because some state agencies may find that operation of a D-SNAP is not warranted even upon receipt of an IA declaration, from federal fiscal year 2022 to 2024, an average of 9 state agencies requested to operate D-SNAP each year and an average of 4 state agencies requested to modify and/or extend.